Church of England leader: vote needs explanation

Rt Rev Justin Welby, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury speaking during a meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, - where a vote on whether to give final approval to legislation introducing the first women bishops will take place. The leader of the Church of England appealed for harmony among the faithful as it went into a vote Tuesday on whether to allow women to serve as bishops, a historic decision that comes after decades of debate. The push to muster a two-thirds majority among lay members of the General Synod is expected to be close, with many on both sides unsatisfied with a compromise proposal to accommodate individual parishes which spurn female bishops. (AP Photo/PA, Yui Mok) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

LONDON (AP) — The leader of the Church of England says it has much explaining to do following its failure to vote to allow women to serve as bishops.

Speaking to the governing General Synod on Wednesday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also said that there is no easy solution to the impasse between traditionalists and proponents of female bishops.

The synod blocked action on the change as the vote among lay members on Tuesday fell short of the required two-thirds majority.

Williams, who had strongly backed the change, said that much of prolonged debate is “not intelligible to our larger society.”

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He added: “We have, to put it very bluntly, a lot of explaining to do.”